After leaving the hospital, Madison drove straight to the jewelry studio.

Joel had opened it for her after the wedding. He'd felt guilty that she'd given up her career to care for him while he recovered from the accident, so he'd set this place up as a gift.

She wouldn't take a single cent of Joel Delgado's fortune in the divorce. But this studio she would claim. Every piece inside it was born from her own hands, her own sleepless nights, her own talent. She needed it to build a future for herself and the baby.

She hadn't been there long when her assistant handed her an outgoing inventory log.

Her necklaces. Her bracelets. Her archival collection pieces. Every last one of them had been transferred out, gifted to Alexis Pruitt on Joel's orders.

Rage surged through her chest. She reached for her phone to call him.

Then she saw her own name trending online.

The video was already everywhere. In it, she sat alone in the hospital waiting room. And there was Joel, cradling Alexis in his arms, murmuring to her like she was something precious.

The comments section had erupted.

"So even Madison Maddox knows when to keep her mouth shut. Guess she's terrified of losing her Mrs. Delgado title."

"Alexis is clearly the one Joel actually loves. Did you see how panicked he looked holding her?"

"Madison only married him because she nursed him after his car accident. She leveraged a favor into a wedding ring, and now reality's catching up."

The words were sharp as needles, but they couldn't pierce a heart that had already gone cold.

Joel saw the trending video too. His response was a seven-figure wire transfer and a single message.

[Alexis had nightmares and needed me there. Be good.]

Madison stared at the number on her screen. Nothing stirred behind her eyes.

She dialed his number. When he picked up, her voice was ice stripped of every last trace of feeling.

"Joel, you gave my designs to your mistress. Did you think to ask me first?"

On the other end, Joel sounded utterly unbothered, even irritated, as though she were being unreasonable.

"Isn't the money I sent you enough to cover it? You were so well-behaved yesterday. What happened?"

Madison laughed. She hung up without another word and went back to packing.

She didn't leave the studio until the following day.

Once she finished gathering her things, she would never set foot in that place again.

But when she pushed open the front door of the house, she found Alexis curled up on the sofa, nestled against Joel, cooing up at him. They looked every bit the picture of a devoted young couple.

Alexis heard the door and turned. The moment she spotted Madison, her expression shifted into something small and frightened, and she shrank deeper into Joel's arms.

"Hey, sis."

Madison's body trembled before she could stop it. She looked at the scene and let the words fall, razor-edged.

"How thoughtful of you, Mr. Delgado. Bringing your mistress home to convalesce. Was the house feeling too big and empty? Needed a little extra warmth?"

Joel's expression darkened in an instant. He straightened, his gaze locking onto Madison, disappointment heavy in every syllable.

"Madison, I actually thought you'd learned your lesson. And here you go again with the passive-aggressive nonsense. Alexis's foot hasn't healed. I don't feel comfortable leaving her out there on her own. I brought her back to rest for a few days. What's the problem?"

His words snuffed out the last faint ember of anything she'd still been holding onto.

She looked at the man in front of her, the man who had once loved her down to the marrow of his bones, and felt nothing. Not anger. Not grief. Just a vast, hollow indifference.

She didn't argue. She swept one cool glance over the two of them, turned, and walked toward the bedroom.

The door closed behind her, sealing out Alexis's soft, theatrical sobs. Sealing out the last fragile thread that still connected her to Joel Delgado.

Madison slid down against the door until she was sitting on the floor. Her hand drifted to her stomach, and she whispered into the quiet.

"You won't blame Mommy for not giving you a whole family, will you, little one?"

It was a long time before Madison could bring herself to stand. She moved slowly, gathering her things. The closet held everything she'd prepared for the baby—tiny clothes, little shoes, and the handmade patchwork quilt her mother had sewn stitch by stitch. She was taking all of it with her.

But the moment she opened the closet doors, her blood ran cold.

Everything inside had been ransacked. The clothes were gone. Every last piece.

She went straight downstairs and found the housekeeper. Her voice came out trembling and ice-cold.

"Where are my things?"

The housekeeper's eyes darted away. She stammered, wouldn't lift her head, and glanced involuntarily toward the garden.

Madison's stomach dropped. She followed the faint sounds of laughter across the lawn, and what she saw made her vision blur red.

Alexis stood on the grass, cooing at the dog at her feet. The dog was wearing the baby clothes Madison had prepared for her child.

The patchwork quilt her mother had sewn was cut to ribbons. One piece had been tied around the dog's neck as a drool bib.

And the good-luck charm—the one her mother had prayed for at the temple and given to her for protection—was clamped between the dog's teeth, being torn apart.

Alexis giggled, scratching behind the dog's ears.

"Little Maddie is such a good girl! You look so pretty in your new outfit!"

"Good dog, Maddie."

Maddie.

That name—it was the pet name Joel used for her alone. His word. He used to hold her close and murmur it against her ear.

Madison's fists clenched so tight her knuckles went white. The rage crawled up her spine like something alive.

Every ounce of fury she had swallowed, every humiliation she had endured in silence—it all shattered at once.

She crossed the distance in three strides and slapped Alexis across the face.

The crack rang out, sharp and clean.

"Madison Maddox, have you lost your mind?!"

Alexis clutched her cheek and shrieked, tears spilling instantly.

Joel came storming out of the study at the commotion. The first thing he saw was Alexis, sobbing, hand pressed to her face.

The moment Alexis spotted him, she threw herself into his arms, trembling.

"Joel! She hit me—and she hurt little Maddie!"

Joel's expression darkened. "Madison, you—"

Madison's voice tore out of her, hoarse and shaking.

"How dare you let her touch my things!"

Joel's face turned to stone. "Your things? A pile of rags and scraps. Alexis letting the dog wear them was more than they deserved."

Madison's chest heaved. Her eyes burned as she lunged past him toward the dog, desperate to save the good-luck charm.

Before she could reach it, the dog bared its teeth and launched at her, snarling, sinking its jaws into her calf. White-hot pain shot through her leg. Its front paws clawed at her knees, scrambling upward toward her stomach.

In that instant, Madison forgot the pain. She summoned every ounce of strength she had and kicked the dog away.

It yelped, tumbled across the grass, and curled into a whimpering ball.

Blood seeped from the wound on Madison's calf. Warm liquid trickled down her shin. A sharp cramp seized her lower abdomen, and she doubled over, unable to move.

"Madison!"

Joel hadn't expected her to actually fight a dog for that charm. Seeing her crumpled on the ground, his mind emptied of everything but alarm. He rose to his feet and started toward her.

He hadn't taken a single step before Alexis grabbed his arm, wailing.

"Joel! Maddie's mouth is bleeding—what's wrong with her? Is she going to die?!"

His hand froze in midair. His gaze drifted to the dog whimpering on the ground. He hesitated for one long moment, then steadied Alexis on her feet.

"Don't be scared."

He picked up the dog, took Alexis by the arm, and walked out the front door without looking back.

Madison watched him go. She bit down on her lip until she tasted iron, refusing to let herself cry. She told herself over and over that he wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth a single tear.

She staggered upright, called a cab, and went to the hospital alone.

The moment she walked through the emergency room doors, everything she'd been holding together finally gave way. Her vision went black, and she collapsed.

When she opened her eyes again, it was the next day. Her wound had been bandaged. She was cleared to leave.

When Madison walked through the door, Alexis was nestled against Joel's side, playing lady of the house as she barked orders at the servants.

Joel heard the sound and lifted his gaze toward Madison.

"Starting today, Alexis is the woman of this house. Everyone answers to her." His eyes settled on Madison. "Including you."

His stare was ice. Not a trace of warmth.

Because she'd kicked Alexis's dog, he was using his so-called amnesia as an excuse again, handing her title as Mrs. Delgado to someone else.

He expected her to rage. To lose control. To break down and then give in, the way she always had. He expected her to still care.

But she no longer wanted to be Mrs. Delgado. And she no longer cared whether his amnesia was real.

Madison said nothing. She turned and headed for the stairs.

Alexis stepped into her path, eyes glittering with triumph and contempt.

"There's still so much I don't understand about running this house. I was hoping you could teach me, sis."

Before Madison could respond, Alexis grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bar counter.

Madison's custom coffee machine, the one she'd waited months to have shipped from Italy, had been wrecked beyond recognition.

Rage blazed through her. She wrenched her hand free.

"Who told you you could touch that?"

Alexis only smiled, smug and unhurried, lifting a steaming cup of coffee from the counter.

"You still think you're the high-and-mighty Mrs. Delgado? Joel stopped loving you a long time ago. You're nothing."

The words barely left her mouth before she hurled the coffee straight at Madison.

Scalding liquid hit her neck and slid beneath her collar. Madison flinched, her skin burning.

The bitter-sweet stench of coffee flooded her nostrils. Her stomach, already wrecked by morning sickness, revolted instantly. She clamped a hand over her mouth and doubled over, retching.

Everything in her stomach came up, all over Alexis.

Alexis froze for a few seconds, then let out a piercing scream.

Joel came running. He found Madison half-collapsed on the floor, dry-heaving, tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes by sheer reflex.

His body moved before his mind caught up. He rushed toward her, reaching out to help her stand.

Instinct. The kind carved into bone. For a split second, he forgot he was supposed to have amnesia.

Alexis watched him and felt her chest seize. She cranked up her sobbing.

"Joel, I only asked her how to use the coffee machine, and she threw coffee at me and vomited on me."

Her voice cracked into a pitiful whimper. "I know she doesn't like me. If she wants me gone, I'll go. But why does she have to humiliate me like this?"

Joel's brow furrowed. The concern drained from his face, replaced by cold disgust.

"Madison, you never learn. I told you she's the woman of this house."

Madison wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She looked up at him, and when she spoke, her voice could have cut glass.

"The woman of this house? Whose name is on the marriage certificate, Joel? Hers?" She held his gaze without flinching. "Did you forget how to read along with everything else?"

Joel went still. He had never seen this version of Madison before.

Alexis recovered first.

"Joel, she's deliberately provoking you. She doesn't respect you at all."

That hit the nerve it was meant to. Fury swallowed whatever was left of Joel's reason.

"Drag her outside. She kneels for one hour and thinks about what she's done."

Two bodyguards moved immediately, seizing Madison by the arms.

She struggled against their grip, staring at Joel's cold, indifferent face. It overlapped with the face in her memory, the one from before.

The Joel who used to hold her like something precious. Who stayed up all night at her bedside when she was sick. Who noticed every small thing about her.

Who once whispered, in a moment so tender it ached: "Madison, I'll love you until the day I die."

His love had been so brief.

Numbness and pain crashed through her in equal measure as the guards forced her to her knees outside the front door of the villa.

Then Madison raised her voice, sharp and clear, aimed straight at the living room.

"Joel Delgado. If you make me kneel out here, and your mother finds out how you've treated me, do you really think your little secretary will live to see tomorrow?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word landed with absolute certainty.

Joel's eyes narrowed. His mother had always taken Madison's side.

And the Delgado family's rules left no room for a woman like Alexis to set foot through the front door, let alone claim the house as her own.

The air went still. They stared at each other, neither willing to look away.